title: A unique visual rhythm does not pop out.
abstract: We investigated attentional demands in visual rhythm perception of periodically moving stimuli using a visual search paradigm. A dynamic search display consisted of vertically "bouncing dots" with regular rhythms. The search target was defined by a unique visual rhythm (i.e., a shorter or longer period) among rhythmic distractors with identical periods. We found that search efficiency for a faster or a slower periodically moving target decreased as the number of distractors increased, although searching for a faster target was about one second faster than searching for a slower target. We conclude that perception of a visual rhythm defined by a unique period is not a "pop-out" process, but a serial one that demands considerable attention.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Human Science Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pöppel
authors.forename: Yi-Huang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010507:Periodicity; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011601:Psychophysics; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult